A wide variety of snack foods such as chips, pretzels, popcorn, and cookies are packaged in flexible film bags for easy hand access to the products for hand-to-mouth snacking. The flexible bags generally readily deform due to the application of external and internal hand pressure so as to permit the human hand to be inserted into the package, grab the snack, and remove it for consumption. The product contents tend to settle so as to maintain the flexible bag in an expanded or more rounded configuration for continued hand-to-mouth consumption. However, flexible bags are not readily stackable upon each other or standable for presentation upon grocery shelves or displays. Additionally, flexible bags do not provide adequate protection against crushing of the contents during transportation or handling compared to protection afforded by cartons or paperboard packaging.
The packaging of baked goods such as cookies, crackers, cereals, and fabricated snack chips in a carton or paperboard box which contains an inner, sealed flexible bag or liner for retaining product freshness also provides stackability, standability, and protection against product breakage. Generally, the shape of such packages is a rectangular parallelepiped with a relatively narrow width allowing the package to be easily held in one hand and providing large front and back panels for product identification. However, the width of the opening on top of the package is also relatively narrow due to the narrow width of the package. Normally, the package has to be deformed at the top by the hand which is inserted into the package to allow the products to be removed from the package by hand. Additionally, even when the package is resting on a solid surface, one's other hand is generally needed to hold the package still or deform it while product is being gathered in the package or removed for consumption. For example, when the package is resting on one of its major panels insertion of one's hand into the package for removal of the product tends to slide the package away from the consumer unless the package is held by the other hand. Snack packages normally contain more than one portion of the product requiring repeat extraction of the product from the package. When the consumer desires to extract small portions of the product repeatedly during a short period of time, such as for hand-to mouth snacking, it becomes inconvenient to deform the package and/or hold it every time the next portion of the food is removed from the package.
Packages with an expandable top opening are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,058 to Zoss et al and U.S. Pat. No. 2,176,912 to Luckett. Zoss et al discloses an expandable top package with a front and a back panel with score lines which are parallel, or are in a Y- shape, an inverted Y-shape, a V-shape, or an inverted V-shape. The panels can be flexed into a non-planar shape with the upper edges of the package being open widely in an oval shape for access of a measuring cup, thereby avoiding the need to pour out dry ingredients. Luckett discloses a tobacco pouch or container which is provided with fold lines that allow the user to squeeze the pouch and spread the top of the pouch wide open and form a spout through which the contents can be easily poured out of the pouch.
However, the packages of Zoss et al and Luckett are not disclosed as staying open during a prolonged amount of time, throughout repeat extractions of the packaged goods from the package when it is laid down or resting on its major surfaces. The design of the package disclosed in Zoss et al does not allow the package to be laid flat or rested on the front or the back panel and remain open. Zoss et al explicitly discloses that spacing the score lines from the side edges and bottom edges of the package will give rigidity to the front and back panels and assist in their return to a planar condition. The packages or containers disclosed in Luckett comprise side flaps that are attached to the front flaps and contain fold lines that facilitate closing of the package and prevent the package from staying open once the force that squeezes the package is removed. The package disclosed in Luckett is intended to stay closed between the extractions of tobacco. Furthermore, the reference explicitly teaches away from any inner liner bags that can interfere with access to the contents of the package.
The present invention provides a reclosable, stackable, standable package for baked goods such as crackers, fabricated snacks or other snack products that is of a conventional parallelepiped form when closed. However, when opened, the package easily converts to a widened shape on top for easy access to the snack. The package stays in a widened open configuration throughout hand-to-mouth snacking even while resting on its front or back panel. The snacking may be performed using one hand without the application of external or internal hand pressure from the other hand to keep the wide open configuration or to prevent excessive sliding of the package.